Making the Holidays Brighter in Our Communities

Every year, Windermere offices throughout the Western U.S. host events to help make the holidays a little brighter for our neighbors in need. From food drives to fundraisers, here are just a few examples of how our offices are giving back this holiday season.

“This is a wonderful way to show our troops that we are thinking about them during the holidays, when they are not with their loved ones,” said Linda Hicks, Managing Broker at the Anthem Hills office. “It just might be the first year these young men and women are away from their families during the holidays, and what a wonderful way for us to show them that we care and that we appreciate what they do for our country. We are proud to be a part of this!”

Agents also volunteered their time to help set up, sort, stock, and stuff handmade Christmas stockings for local soldiers deployed in war zones. The photo below shows about half of the packages all wrapped and ready to be sent to the troops. Over 700 boxes were shipped, with just over 1,200 stockings.

The Windermere Redmond office participated in the Friends of Youth Giving Tree by setting up a tree in their office with gift tags for youth aged 16 to 25 that are either homeless or transitioning into a home for the first time. Brokers then selected gift tags and purchased the gifts to be delivered to Friends of Youth. Friends of Youth provides services to at-risk youth and homeless young people at 25 sites in 18 cities. In 2016, they helped over 6,500 youth and their families in crisis.

Seattle, WA

The Windermere Seattle-Ballard office has been busy hosting events to raise money for the Windermere Foundation. The first was a Sip & Swap event where they hosted a holiday dresses/clothing swap and asked for donations for each item. Proceeds benefitted the Ballard Senior Center and a total of $651 was raised. They also hosted a Monday Night Football event at Lagunitas Brewery where beer proceeds from that night, totaling $827, were donated to the Ballard Food Bank. In December, they held a Windermere Boutique Day, where 13 local craft vendors came to sell their goods. A portion of all sales were donated to the Windermere Foundation.

The Windermere Ballard office also hosted their 13th annual Santa Photos event for the community. Over 100 people/families visited the office that day, with a suggested donation of $10 for each Santa photo taken. Around $1,000 was raised from the photos, along with an additional $316 in cash and checks.

Windermere would like to thank our offices and everyone that supports the Windermere Foundation. Through these events, as well as a variety of other fundraisers like the ones described above, the Windermere Foundation is able to support non-profit organizations that provide services to low-income and homeless families throughout the Western U.S.